A Review of the Most Important Natural Antioxidants and Effective Medicinal Plants in Traditional Medicine on Prostate Cancer and Its Disorders
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
J Herbmed Pharmacol. 2020; 9(2): 112-120. http://www.herbmedpharmacol.com doi: 10.34172/jhp.2020.15 Journal of Herbmed Pharmacology A review of the most important natural antioxidants and effective medicinal plants in traditional medicine on prostate cancer and its disorders Gholam Basati1 ID , Pardis Ghanadi2, Saber Abbaszadeh3* ID 1Biotechnology and Medicinal Plants Research Center, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran 2Medical Student, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran. 3Student Research Committee, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Article Type: Herbal plants can be used to treat and prevent life-threatening diseases, such as prostate Review cancer, infections and other diseases. The findings from traditional medicine and the use of medicinal plants can help control and treat most problems due to prostate diseases. The Article History: aim of this study was to identify and report the most important medicinal plants that affect Received: 19 July 2019 prostate disorders. Based on the results of the review of numerous articles indexed in the Accepted: 28 October 2019 databases ISI, Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, etc., a number of plants have been reported to be used in the treatment and prevention of diseases, inflammation, infection, and cancer of Keywords: the prostate gland. The plants include Panax ginseng, Arum palaestinum, Melissa officinalis, Prostate cancer Syzygium paniculatum, Coptis chinensis, Embelia ribes, Scutellaria baicalensis, Tripterygium Inflammation wilfordii, Salvia triloba, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Psidium guajava, Ganoderma lucidum, Litchi Prostatitis chinensis, Saussurea costus, Andrographis paniculata, Magnolia officinalis and Prunus Medicinal plants africana. Phytochemical investigations have examined the therapeutic effects of medicinal Natural antioxidants plants effective on prostate cancer and their possible mechanisms of action and clinical Herbal drugs effects as well as the use of active flavonoids in production of herbal drugs. Due to the active ingredients and important flavonoids of these plants, they can be used in production of herbal drugs that prevent and treat infections, inflammation and cancer of the prostate gland, and reduce the metastasis of prostate cancer cells, reducing the patients’ suffering and pain. Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education: Medicinal plants presented in this review might be used effectively for some prostate disorders. Cautious about drug interaction and side effects of medicinal plants is very important. Please cite this paper as: Basati G, Ghanadi P, Abbaszadeh S. A review of the most important natural antioxidants and effective medicinal plants in traditional medicine on prostate cancer and its disorders. J Herbmed Pharmacol. 2020;9(2):112-120. doi: 10.34172/jhp.2020.15. Introduction 40’s have histological evidence of prostate adenocarcinoma The prostate gland, as age increases, may be affected by (6). The formation of a tumor in the prostate is related many diseases, including benign prostatic hyperplasia to several factors such as age, race, diet, heredity, and (BPH) and prostate cancer, due to impaired normal the environment (7). In addition, inflammation is also a growth of the gland (1). Prostate cancer is a condition in major contributor to prostate diseases and may play a role which malignant cells originate in prostate tissues and in the growth of tumor cells. Prostate cancer seems to be irregularly proliferate, resulting in an increase in volume partly related to genetics, but environmental factors are of each of the cellular components of the prostate gland also involved (8,9). Prostate diseases have adverse effects (2,3). Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers on fertility and also cause urinary problems due to the and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men (4,5). anatomical condition of the prostate (10,11). Prostatitis is Although prostate cancer is more common in older men, classified as acute, chronic, asymptomatic inflammatory studies have shown that one third of men in the 30’s and (chronic pelvic pain syndrome), and chronic bacterial. *Corresponding author: Saber Abbaszadeh; Email: [email protected] Basati et al Prostatitis may develop at any ages (12,13). Several studies extract of Thymus vulgaris on precancerous lesions and in different countries have confirmed the beneficial squamous cell carcinoma of the prostate gland observed effects of herbal therapy on prostate cancer and other in Wistar rats can be attributed to thymol and carvacrol. diseases (14). In developed countries, prostate cancer is Flavonoids are other compounds in the hydroalcoholic the second leading cancer in men, so that one out of every extract of Thymus vulgaris which have anti-cancer effects six men develops the cancer (15). With the increasing (43). The aim of this study was to identify and report prevalence of prostate cancer deaths and the inefficacy of the most important medicinal plants that affect prostate chemotherapy and radiation therapy in advanced forms disorder. of this cancer, new methods are needed to control this cancer (16). BPH is the fourth leading disease in men over Materials and Methods the age of 50 (17). As the age advances, the prevalence of The information used in this review was obtained from BPH increases (18-22). Most of the plants’ properties are the articles indexed in the databases Iran Medex, Irandoc, related to antioxidant activity (23), which is mainly due PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Scientific Information to the presence of phenolic compounds (24). However, Database, Google Scholar, Magiran, etc. using the other compounds are likely to be involved in the plants’ search terms prostate cancer, prostate inflammation and activities. Nettle is known to exhibit positive effect on the diseases, prostatitis, medicinal plants, medicinal plants treatment of BPH (25). The main activity of nettle seems effective on prostate cancer, medicinal plants effective to be exerted by disrupting dihydrotestosterone binding on prostate inflammation and prostatitis, mechanism of to cytosol and nuclear receptors (26), explaining the role action of medicinal plants effective on prostate cancer, and of the plant in preventing prostate cancer. A recent study antioxidant and anticancer effects of extracts and essential showed that 20% extract of the nettle had specific anti- oils of medicinal plants effective on prostate diseases. In proliferative effects on the epithelial and stromal cells of this study, 165 articles were reviewed. After the initial the prostate (27,28). There is a compound in the garlic review, 80 articles were found to address the subject of our that has been reported to inhibit the growth of prostate review. Irrelevant articles were also excluded. Finally, 80 cancer cells in vitro. Garlic can counteract cancer causing articles related to the purpose of our review published by agents. In garlic, the compound S-allyl cysteine has 2019 were included in the final analysis. high antitumor properties, thus converting remaining testosterone products into low-risk materials (29-31). A Results review study has shown that Allium can effectively inhibit The medicinal plants and their natural antioxidants, proliferation of the LNCaP prostate cancer cells (32). which we examined in this study, effectively influence Green tea can have inhibitory effects on prostate cancer. the treatment and prevention of prostate diseases and Studies on rats have shown that green tea is able to inhibit cancer and prostatitis via the potential mechanisms the enzyme 5-alpha reductase. This enzyme is a conversion reported (Table 1). Based on the results of a review of factor of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, which is a numerous articles, some of the most important plants carcinogenic agent in the prostate (33). Researchers have for the treatment and prevention of prostate cancer, and found that the strongest of these compounds in the green infections and inflammation of the prostate gland include tea is epigallocatechin-3-gallate (34). Epigallocatechin- Panax ginseng (Asian ginseng), Arum palaestinum (black 3-gallate and other green tea compounds inhibit the calla), Melissa officinalis (common balm), Syzygium activity of an enzyme called proteasome. Proteasome is paniculatum (magenta cherry), Coptis chinensis (magenta a key factor in the development of prostate cancer (35). lilly pilly), Embelia ribes (false black pepper), Scutellaria Studies have shown that curcumin blocks the growth of baicalensis (Baikal skullcap), Tripterygium wilfordii the prostate cancer cell by inhibiting the activity of the (thunder god vine), Salvia triloba (Greek sage), Ocimum enzyme tyrosine kinase in the epidermal growth factor tenuiflorum (holy basil), Psidium guajava (common receptor (36). One study demonstrated that curcumin guava), Ganoderma lucidum (mushroom ), Litchi chinensis is effective in treating androgen dependent prostate (Lychee), Saussurea costus (costus), Andrographis cancer (37). In a recent study, curcumin was observed to paniculata (green chiretta), Magnolia officinalis (houpu inhibit prostate cancer cells, and completed this action magnolia) and Prunus Africana (African cherry). The by blocking the effects of factors called AP-6 and NF- supplementary information and detailed therapeutic KappaB (38). A study on animal tissue reported evidence action mechanisms of medicinal plants are shown in for the positive